BARONESS Meacher visited a St Albans secondary school last week to talk about her work and the role of the House of Lords.

The 72 year old was at Verulam School on Friday, October 5, to take part in its ‘Engaging Minds’ lectures which attracts speakers including prominent musicians, politicians and sportspeople.

Baroness Meacher has worked for various councils and public bodies and her political interests include mental health, criminal justice, welfare benefits and social care.

She was raised to the peerage as Baroness Meacher of Spitalfields in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2006.

The aim of her lecture was to encourage students to engage more with the political and parliamentary process.

After discussing the House of Lords, she hosted a question and answer session on the parliamentary process and life at Westminster.

Verulam School headmaster Paul Ramsey said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to interact with someone who knows the parliamentary system inside out, as it can sometimes seem far removed from their daily lives.”

The visit was arranged through the Lord Speaker’s Peers in Schools programme, which has been running across the UK since 2007 and has so far involved around 50,000 young people. This continuing outreach programme sends members of the House of Lords into schools and colleges across the country to give talks in support of the citizenship curriculum.